[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 39 (Thursday, March 5, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2852-S2853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM

  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 67, submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 67) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that providing breakfast in schools through the 
     national school breakfast program has a positive impact on 
     the lives and classroom performance of low-income children.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.

[[Page S2853]]

  Mr. MERKLEY. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 67) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 67

       Whereas participants in the school breakfast program 
     established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
     (42 U.S.C. 1773) include public, private, elementary, middle, 
     and high schools, as well as schools in rural, suburban, and 
     urban areas;
       Whereas access to nutrition programs such as the school 
     lunch program, established under the Richard B. Russell 
     National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the 
     national school breakfast program helps to create a stronger 
     learning environment for children and improves children's 
     concentration in the classroom;
       Whereas missing breakfast and the resulting hunger has been 
     shown to harm the ability of children to learn and to hinder 
     academic performance;
       Whereas students who eat a complete breakfast have been 
     shown to make fewer mistakes and to work faster in math 
     exercises than those who eat a partial breakfast;
       Whereas implementing or improving classroom breakfast 
     programs has been shown to increase breakfast consumption 
     among eligible students dramatically, doubling, and in some 
     cases, tripling numbers of participants in school breakfast 
     programs, as evidenced by research in Minnesota, New York, 
     and Wisconsin;
       Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown 
     in several instances to improve attentiveness and academic 
     performance, while reducing absences, tardiness, and 
     disciplinary referrals;
       Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to the 
     time students arrive in the classroom and take tests improves 
     the students' performance on standardized tests;
       Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfast are 
     more likely to have difficulty distinguishing among similar 
     images, show increased errors, and have slower memory recall;
       Whereas children who live in families that experience 
     hunger are likely to have lower math scores, receive more 
     special education services, and face an increased likelihood 
     of repeating a grade;
       Whereas making breakfast widely available in different 
     venues or in a combination of venues, such as by providing 
     breakfast in the classroom, in the hallways outside 
     classrooms, or to students as they exit their school buses, 
     has been shown to lessen the stigma of receiving free or 
     reduced-price school breakfasts, which stigma sometimes 
     prevents eligible students from obtaining traditional 
     breakfast in the cafeteria;
       Whereas in fiscal year 2008, 8,520,000 students in the 
     United States consumed free or reduced-price school 
     breakfasts provided under the national school breakfast 
     program;
       Whereas less than half of the low-income students who 
     participate in the national school lunch program also 
     participate in the national school breakfast program;
       Whereas at least 16,000 schools that participate in the 
     national school lunch program do not participate in the 
     national school breakfast program;
       Whereas in fiscal year 2008, 60 percent of school lunches 
     served, and 80 percent of school breakfasts served, were 
     served to students who qualified for free or reduced-priced 
     meals;
       Whereas the current economic situation, including the 
     increase of nearly 3 percent in the national unemployment 
     rate in 2008, is causing more families to struggle to feed 
     their children and to turn to schools for assistance;
       Whereas studies suggest that children who eat breakfast 
     take in more nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and 
     vitamins A, E, D, and B-6;
       Whereas studies show that children who participate in 
     school breakfast programs eat more fruits, drink more milk, 
     and consume less saturated fat than those who do not eat 
     breakfast;
       Whereas children who do not eat breakfast, either in school 
     or at home, are more likely to be overweight than children 
     who eat a healthful breakfast on a daily basis; and
       Whereas March 2 through March 6, 2009 is National School 
     Breakfast Week: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of the school breakfast 
     program established under section 4 of the Child Nutrition 
     Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and the positive impact of the 
     program on the lives of low-income children and families and 
     on children's overall classroom performance;
       (2) expresses strong support for States that have 
     successfully implemented school breakfast programs in order 
     to alleviate hunger and improve the test scores and grades of 
     participating students;
       (3) encourages all States to strengthen their school 
     breakfast programs, provide incentives for the expansion of 
     school breakfast programs, and promote improvements in the 
     nutritional quality of breakfasts served;
       (4) recognizes the need to provide States with resources to 
     improve the availability of adequate and nutritious 
     breakfasts;
       (5) recognizes the impact of nonprofit and community 
     organizations that work to increase awareness of, and access 
     to, breakfast programs for low-income children; and
       (6) recognizes that National School Breakfast Week helps 
     draw attention to the need for, and success of, the national 
     school breakfast program.

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